Through Another Person's Eyes..
by TraceAce
Summary: Matt and Jeff are brothers..and of course, they fight like siblings. However, Jeff is getting angry at Matt's obvious protective streak, and makes a wish..that comes true, unfortunantly for both of them. Time to learn a lesson..
1. Defiance And A Wish..

This story was written awhile ago. I love this story too, BTW. LOL. It's got a freaky plot, but if ya don't like it, don't read it. ^__^  
  
I don't own Jeff, Matt, or the WWF. I don't own Miriam either--she owns herself. ^__^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Jeff, you have to rest! Even the doctor doesn't think you should try wrestling this week at all!" Matt told his stubborn younger brother. Jeff stood from the hotel bed he was sitting on. He face his brother and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Geez Matt, I've have worse bumps then this. Ya gotta let me fight! Puh-leeze?" he made sure to prolonge the word 'please', and he did, sucessfully.  
  
"Jeff..no." Matt shook his head decisively. "I don't need you getting hurt any more."  
  
"You're not the boss of me!" He cried out in mostly anger and stubborness..Matt always did this to him. "I'm not little anymore, Matt!" Jeff noted a frown appear on his brother's face.  
  
"I know that..but you're still as stubborn as you were when we will little. Jeff, I'm doing this for your own good. Stay here and chill out." At this, Matt picked up his coat and left the room.  
  
Jeff groaned and flopped down onto the bed. He hated how his brother could so easily command him to do what he thought was 'best' for him. He was worse then a parent. Oh, he appreciated his brother's love but..sometimes it went a bit too far. The injury wasn't as bad as he thought. He could walk and stuff. Could still hold his own. But then, he had to prove that to Matt, which might as well been the task of learning how to fly it was so impossible.  
  
He again sighed and turned on the TV. Some weird movie he had seen a long while ago, aboout these two people who changed places.  
  
"Those people are lucky." he muttered. "I would give anything to be Matt. Then I could do whatever I want." He sat up again, barely wincing from the pain in his knee. He shut the TV off and put on his sneakers. To hell Matt was going to boss him around anymore. If he had too, he would hitchhike.  
  
This was exactly what he did. He had tried Adam, but the traitor sided with his brother. No matter though. He would use his looks and famousness to get a ride. Surely someone was heading for the stadium. He slung his pack over his back and stuck out his thumb like he saw in most movies. It took not even 5 minutes until a car pulled up. He grinned at his truely smart idea.  
  
"Lemme guess, stadium right?" a female voice asked. "Hop in." Jeff gratefully complied, easily getting into the car. He looked to his driver..and his mouth dropped.  
  
She was beautiful. Almost unhumanly beautiful.  
  
"I'd close your mouth, hun, you're drooling on my new seats." she giggled. He quickly closed his mouth, his face turning red.  
  
"Sorry..Um.." he tried to think of what to say.  
  
"I know, you're Jeff Hardy."--she was already on the road again--"And next you're going to ask my name, right?"  
  
"Uh.." Jeff said dumbly. She was right.  
  
"Miriam." she introduced herself. "So, what's a wrestler like you trying to get some innocent person to drive you around?"  
  
"It's a long story." he managed to blurt, sighing loudly. "I really appreciate the ride though, miss."  
  
"No problem." she nodded, smiling. "Can I take a crack at what happened?"  
  
"Go ahead." he nodded.  
  
"Well, your brother has decided not to let you go because of an injury you got on Monday. You decided to go anyway which is why you're in my car." she said matter-of-factly.  
  
"How the hell..? What are you, a psychic?" he asked, surpised.  
  
"Yeah, actually." she smiled again. "Part time job. I'm not really psychic at all, of course."  
  
"Then how did you figure all that out?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Well, I noticed your wrapped up knee. Then, judging from your face, which looks exactly like mine when I'm annoyed, I figured something must have happened. Being that I know exactly how you feel about siblings, I figured Matt must have told you to stay behind." she explained, giggling.  
  
"You're good." he commented.  
  
"You learn a thing or two after a few years." she pointed out. "Hey, what do ya know..we're almost there!" Jeff looked up and saw the stadium. He had long since stopped blushing and was relaxed with this odd girl now. As they neared it even more, he couldn't help but wonder why he had a feeling something big would happen...  
  
****  
  
"Thanks for the ride." Jeff said for the millionth time. They were outside. "I guess this is where we say goodbye." The security guard watched them closely.  
  
"Not really." she reached down the collar of her zipped up coat and her hand emerged with a card..a pass.  
  
"Enter." the guard mumbled to both of them the minute he saw the pass. Miriam pulled him in with her. The minute they got in he looked at her, surpised.  
  
"Forgot to mention I'm kinda a new reporter here." she smiled sheepishly. "I'll see ya later, Jeff." She winked at him and walked away.  
  
Jeff shook his head and walked his own way. He couldn't let Matt see him. He'd send him away as fast as he could say 'But'. He entered an empty locker room--he knew it was empty because most of the rooms were labeled if it was occupied--and quickly got dressed into his normal stuff.   
  
He knew his brother was going to be stupid enough to fight the Dudleys alone. They were mean off and on the camera, and they didn't exactly be as careful as they should be. Ever. He was picked on an awful lot by them. But then he had Chris to help him out. Chris Irvine..or Jericho to most. They were best friends off camera basically..  
  
He turned on the TV to see, to his dismay, his brother already on. Most of the time, most of the matches were decided before they even started. Mark-Buh-Buh to most-and Devon-D-Von-were a weird duo. They didn't play by the rules at all. At this point, he saw his brother getting his ass kicked pretty badly, and he decided this might be the time he go and help him.  
  
This is what he did. He almost killed himself while doing so, but he did. It wasn't easy hobbling to where they were. At one point Jeff wondered if maybe he should have stayed back like his brother had instructed. This thought left when he quickly got into the ring and smashed a chair into Mark's head. Contrary to popular belief, even if it was mostly fake, chair shots are a tad painful. Nearly instantly Matt was by his side, his face showing annoyance.  
  
"What are you doin' here, Jeff?" he hissed through his teeth.  
  
"I told you.." he was cut off then as he felt a strong blow to his back. The pain cut in and he fell to the ground into the awaiting darkness. 


	2. The Wrong Mirror Image..

Quiet. That's the best way to describe the place where Jeff woke up. His head hurt like crazy, but he soon realized he wasn't in the ring any longer. He was in a hotel bed. Quickly sitting up, he found he was right. He was back in the hotel somehow. He quickly stood up, not seeming to notice something seemed different. He glanced to his right to see his brother asleep, the cover over his head enough that he couldn't see his head. That's how he always slept.  
  
Moving into the bathroom, he bent down and put on the shower. Then, he froze. He had passed a mirror..and something he noted seemed weird. He stood again, and looked into the mirror before drawing in a surpised gasp. His reflection was wrong..instead of seeing his face..he saw his brothers. At this point, he quickly grasped the nearest surface to stop from fainting.  
  
The reflection did the same. "No way.." he mumbled, and it wasn't his voice, but Matt's. He stared at himself and saw Matt stare back from the other side. He wondered if it was a dream, but then after he pinched himself, he ruled that out, because now the skin he pinched was throbbing and red.  
  
"Matt! You're awake!" the voice made him jump, literally. He turned to see Chris staring at him, an amused look on his face. "Chill, man. It's me. I guess you're OK, huh? How's Jeff?" Jeff. HE was Jeff..but now his best friend was calling him Matt. He wanted to explain to him what was wrong..but he decided he didn't want Chris to think he's gone mad.  
  
"Yeah, I'm cool." he said, trying to impersonate his brother suaveness the best way he could. "I'll take care of Jeff now."--that felt very weird to say--"So you don't have to stick around."  
  
"Really? Mm, OK. Tell Jeff if he feels up to it I'm all for hangin' out tonight." Chris said as he began to exit the room. "Feel better, Matt!" He left the room and for once, Jeff was glad. He quickly rushed to his brother's bed and flung off the covers.  
  
His body lay there, asleep. It was the weirdest thing, looking at his body through other eyes. He shook his body, not knowing who was controling it, almost hoping it was Matt instead of some odd person he didn't know. He watched as HIS eyes fluttered open. The minute his body looked at him, it jerked back, surpised.  
  
"What the hell?!" his body exclaimed. "Ahh!!" Jeff quickly put a hand over his body's mouth.  
  
"Matt, if that's you, nod your head." His body quickly nodded, shaking. "Good. Stop screaming and I'll take my hand off your mouth." Matt nodded again, and he let go.  
  
"Jeff?" he asked, trying to let the events in. It wasn't every day you wake up to see yourself staring at you--if that makes any sense.  
  
"Yeah." Jeff nodded. "It's me. I don't know how it's me, but it is."  
  
"This has to be some sort of weird dream, right?" he asked hopefully. He was about to pinch himself, but Jeff stopped him.  
  
"It's not a dream, no need to screw up my skin for that." he said calmly.  
  
"Jeff, does that mean..?" he trailed off.  
  
"You've got my body. Here, I'll show you." He dragged his brother out of bed and tossed him in front of the mirror. Matt touched his face--or Jeff's face--whatever.  
  
"How can this be?" he asked, staring at his brother's face which was now oddly his own.  
  
"I have no clue, Matt but..this could prove to be a problem." Jeff pointed out.  
  
"Just a problem?!" he gapped. "This is a HUGE problem! Jeff, I can't be *you*! I'm totally different then *you*!"  
  
"Matt, stop freaking!" Jeff groaned. "It doesn't help this situation one bit. We gotta figure out how this happened."  
  
"How do you figure out how you and your brother switched bodies? It's like that weird movie Freaky Friday or whatever!" Matt exclaimed.  
  
"That's it!" he snapped his fingers.  
  
"Huh?" Matt inquired.  
  
"I remember now..I sorta wished I was.." Jeff started.  
  
"Don't tell me you wished you were me.." Matt groaned. Jeff sheepishly nodded.  
  
"It's not all my fault, Matt!" Jeff said, folding his arms. "I wouldn't have wished that if you weren't tellin' me what to do!"  
  
"I told you what to do because I don't want you to get hurt, Jeff." Matt's eyes..or Jeff's, if you want to be technical, softened. "I don't tell you not to do things to be mean."  
  
"Yeah well, it doesn't matter now because basically we've got bigger problems to deal with right now." Jeff pointed out. "How are we going to get back into our right bodies?"  
  
"Um..unwish your wish!" Matt suggested.  
  
"Ok then..I wish I didn't wish that stupid wish of wanting to be my brother!" Jeff said, closing his eyes. He opened them and sighed. There was his body, standing before him, with Matt's brain in it. It didn't work. "Well..it looks like we might have to get used to this for a bit. Play it cool."  
  
"You make it sound easy." Matt grumbled.  
  
"It is. All I have to do is be uptight about things and all you have to do is relax and try to have a good time instead of worrying all the time." he smirked. "Think of it as a gift from god you can finally change your personality for awhile."  
  
"My personality isn't that bad." he said defiantly.  
  
"Yeah, for a rock." Jeff countered.  
  
"Watch it..you might have an older body but I have the older mind." he reminded.  
  
"You gotta hang out with Chris tonight." Jeff suddenly remembered.  
  
"Irvine?" he quickly asked.  
  
"The one and only." Jeff nodded. "And you gotta act like me, so listen up.." Matt groaned and Jeff realized this might be a bit harder then he thought..  
  
****  
  
"First, slouch more." They were in the room with the beds again. Jeff paced in front of Matt, who was not very happy. He tried his best. "Try not to look like you're trying to slouch." Matt tried again.. "Next, ya gotta relax more. Try to have a good time."  
  
"How can I..?" he was cut off by his brother.  
  
"You can. Like I said, it's more like a gift from god that you finally can chill and have a little fun. You're always so serious." Jeff patted his brother's shoulder. "Chris'll show you. Trust me." Suddenly Matt froze.  
  
"Shit..what's today?" he questioned.  
  
"Wednesday I think, why?" he inquired.  
  
"You're kidding, right?" he asked, looking nervous.  
  
"No." he shrugged.  
  
"Shit! I have an interview today for one of those magazines!" Matt said frantically.  
  
"Calm down, Mattie, I have it covered." Jeff smiled.  
  
"Jeff, I swear, if you mess up my image.." Matt trailed off, trying to think of a good way to kill his brother.  
  
"Relax man, I got it covered." he grinned a true to form Jeff Hardy grin, even though he was in a different body now. "I mean, how hard can ya be? I know most of your info and shit. They usually ask about us anyway. Like how we got into the business and shit. I know that. I was there."  
  
"I guess so.." he sighed. This was too much. He wasn't expecting to be Jeff ever. Then again, who expected to change bodies with someone? Jeff put his arm around his brother's shoulders.  
  
"Trust me, bro, everything will be fine." he said comfortingly. "You have a good time with Chris and try to relax, huh? You're way too stressed. Enjoy the fact you can be *me* of all people for a night or two."  
  
"This does not comfort me much, Jeff." Matt sighed in annoyance. He looked at his brother and cracked a smile "But..I'll try my best."  
  
"That's the spirit! Let loose! I mean, you won't even give yourself a bad name because you're doin' it with my body, and I'm known for partying and shit." he again pointed out. "And while you do that I'll keep up your serious ways. No one will even suspect something's up."  
  
Matt smiled besides the fact he was still a bit shocked that he was his brother now.   
  
"Do I see a grin on your face, Mattie?" Jeff teased. "Could you actually be thinking about having some fun?"  
  
"No." he said defensively.  
  
"Whatever, bro." Jeff smirked slightly. "So when's this little intervi--" Suddenly he heard a knock at the door.  
  
"Tell me that isn't the person." Jeff groaned. He--or Matt--was only in boxers. Matt shoved one of his shirts and jeans into his hands.  
  
"Get dressed, hurry up." he shoved his brother into the bathroom and shut the door as quickly as he did the first thing. He was luckily dressed--though they were from yesterday. Jeff had this habit of falling asleep in his clothes. He quickly opened the door and a woman, no older then Jeff-or him- stood there, looking a bit awkward. Her eyes lit up suddenly as she laid eyes on him.  
  
"Jeff?" she asked. Uh-oh. Matt bit his lip. She obviously knew his brother--but he himself didn't.  
  
"Oh, hi." he said uncomfortably. "Come on in. You're my brother's interviewer, right?"  
  
"Yeah! My first job. I see you saved your brother, I happened to pass a TV when it happened. Is your knee OK?" she asked as he led her to a seat. He hadn't even noticed Jeff's knee hurting. Maybe Jeff was right about him being overprotective...  
  
"I'm fine. My knee feels tons better." he smiled as best he could to imitate his brother--it wasn't working too well. Suddenly Jeff--or Matt, to the girl atleast, appeared from the bathroom, rubbing his head.  
  
"M--Jeff, what's up with sho--" he stopped, seeing the girl that had drove him to the stadium. "Miriam?" She looked at him curiously and Jeff instantly realized his mistake.  
  
"How do you know my name?" she asked.  
  
"Oh..uhh..Jeff told me all about you, yep. I figured it was you because he was gettin' all lovey with you." he quickly explained, then realized that really wasn't Matt's type of speech--oh well. "He's always like that with girls."  
  
"Well, I'm gonna get going.."--he was already getting used to talking like his sibling--"I got some plans."  
  
"Jeff, hey, Chris told me to tell you to meet him at the local bar around the corner at 7." Jeff quickly said, trying not to make it obvious that he was giving him directions.  
  
"OK. That's cool. I'll see ya around." Matt waved before leaving his brother, hoping it wasn't the stupidest thing he will ever humanly do.. 


	3. Just Like My Bro..

Jeff sat down, studing Miriam. She easily got her questions in order and took out a recorder. He smiled then--she was so cute when she was so serious. He quickly took the smile off his face..he wasn't Jeff anymore, but Matt. He'd leave any hope of romance for AFTER he got his correct body back.  
  
"Are you ready?" she questioned.  
  
"Yep, totally." he nodded. She put on the recorder.  
  
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Matt." she said as the tape began.  
  
"Hey, you too. So, you're fresh meat in the WWF, huh?" he grinned.  
  
"You could say that. Anyway, let's get on to these questions." she said.  
  
"OK." Jeff nodded.  
  
"Well first up, it's time to tell your story on how you got to the WWF." she smiled.  
  
"Ah, well, it's not exactly a long story. Me and Jeff didn't like wrestling much 'till our teens..then we started what people call now as backyard wrestling with my friends. Man, that was a blast, we even taped some of 'um..anyway, so we meet this guy..Ken Morgan, and he built this slightly real ring. People knew what we were doing, so, lo and behold, we get invited to fairs and such to show off our skills. We met up with this indy wrestler, he invited us to an Italion Stallion show, where I ended up getting my ass kicked in. We were invited once more by this guy after awhile, and since he needed 2 guys, Jeff came along too. We fought with him awhile--until we found he was screwing us out of a ton of money. A bit later, WWF decided to sign us up. We went through the training camp--you know, the usual stuff--and finally got signed on." Jeff explained.  
  
"That's quite a story." Miriam commented, jotting something down. "Alright, next question. You and Jeff are usually always together. Do you guys get along or does sibling rivalry come into play?"  
  
"Well, me and Jeff have our little spats, but we've really never gotten so mad at each other that either of us would ever leave the other. We're too close to let too many fights get in the way." Jeff smiled--he didn't know if Matt thought the same way--but as much as Matt bossed him around, he was still his brother and he still loved him no matter what.   
  
"That's sweet. And speaking of you and your brother, how are you two coping with the sudden success?" she asked.  
  
"We love our fans. If it was only a handful of people that liked us, hell, we wouldn't care. We do this stuff for them--atleast I do. Even when I hurt like hell I go out there and grit my teeth for the fans." he answered.  
  
"What kind of injuries have you sustained since you started out and which one was the most painful?" Miriam inquired.  
  
"I had a whole mess of injures from a broken nose to a broken cheekbone to even broken fingers--they all hurt, but I guess the cheekbone was bad only because I had to be out for a little while. It's hard to say, though." he laughed. He knew this'd be easy to fake. He couldn't help but wonder how his brother was doing though...  
  
***  
  
"Haha, nice ta see you're up and movin, Jeffy." Chris laughed. Matt shifted uncomfortably, he didn't even really know Chris enough to really hang out with him. "Ah, you seem a little beaten up. You feeling OK?" he asked as he ushered him into the car.  
  
"I'm cool." he said, trying to act atleast a bit like his younger brother--Jeff had told him to relax, and that's what he was aiming to be. Relaxed. A easy word to say but a hard word to act.   
  
"That's good. Want to go to the usual club?" he questioned.  
  
Club. With people. He was going to die. "Sure thing, let's get goin'." he forced himself to say. Be cool, just chill..Matt kept reminding himself this. He didn't know how long he was going to be Jeff. Suddenly the car lurched forward and Matt realized he was now in a car with Chris Irvine behind the wheel.  
  
Not good. Matt wished he had something to grip on as they sped down the road. He drew in a breath and calmed down a bit, though they were still speeding down the road. Suddenly the car stopped, and Matt almost flew forward from his seat. He didn't, somehow. Sitting there, dazed, he was quickly ushered out of the car and before long he found himself in a particularly loud bar.  
  
"Great place, huh?" Chris asked. Matt looked at him and nodded, though this wasn't exactly the best place in Matt's mind. They went to the bar and within minutes he found a drink in his hands.   
  
Now, he didn't like drinking, but he didn't mind taking a swig. Jeff had told him to have fun, so fun he will have. Suddenly he noted a girl watching him. The minute their eyes met the girl shyly looked down at her drink.  
  
"Go get 'er, she's flirting with you." Matt turned his head to see Chris grinning.  
  
"You think so?" he questioned.  
  
"Of course!" Chris nodded. With this, Matt stood and walked toward her.  
  
"Hi." he said. She looked up at him and smiled. "Mind if I sit down."  
  
"Oh no, not at all." she said. He sat on the stool the minute she said that.  
  
"I'm M--Jeff. I saw you watching me..or maybe you weren't. It kinda looked like it." he smiled nervously.  
  
"I'm sorry..I didn't mean too..you're cute though." she grinned. He blushed slightly. A slow strong started playing and the girl studied him for a moment."Wanna dance?"  
  
"Me? Dance?" he asked.  
  
"No, the invisable guy in back of you." she said sarcastically.  
  
"I can't dance though.." he said sheepishly.  
  
"I'll teach you." she smiled and took his hand. He shrugged and let her drag her into the crowd. They started dancing, and Matt was pretty much stumbling along with this girl.  
  
"It's OK." she smiled as she noted the worried creases on his face. "You're doing good." He smiled nervously.   
  
"You never told me your name.." he pointed out as the song continued.  
  
"Oh, my name's Kaylan." she smiled. Matt nodded and for once he realized he was actually having a bit of fun..  
  
****  
  
"And the final question, I'm sure every female fan of yours want to know, are you single?" she grinned.  
  
"Yeah. Haven't found my special someone yet, you know?" he explained. She stopped the tape there, and smiled.  
  
"Good, we're done." she nodded. "Thanks for takin' it easy on me, Matt. You're so much like your brother."  
  
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked.  
  
"Good. Your brother is sweet." she smiled.  
  
"You like him or something?" he pushed.  
  
"I don't know, a little I guess." she admitted. "Well, I better be going. It was a pleasure talking to you." She shook his hand and soon was gone.   
  
It was too quiet for Jeff. He would give anything to be partying. Not in this body, though. He PROMISED his brother he'd act like him. He sat back on the bed, turning on the TV. Already he had stripped off his shirt, which was way too hot for the room. Nothing but old reruns and a few news shows were on. Suddenly he remembered oddly where the laptop he and his brother always cartered around. Without a second thought he turned off the TV and hastily took out the little computer from their pile of junk. He hooked it up in less then 5 minutes and he waited impatiently as he connected to the internet. He decided, hey, no one had to know he was a wrestler. He did it like this all the time. It was an easy way to get feedback.  
  
He noted he had mail and he quickly went to check it out. Maybe it was from his mom or dad? He hasn't called them in awhile--he figured he should soon, atleast when everything was not so mixed up anymore. He clicked the icon and his box appeared. It was mostly porn--he didn't like it, unlike some males--and he quickly deleted that one. He noted one that said READ and he was about to delete it when something made him stop. He had a feeling he "Dear Jeff.." he mumbled to himself as he read. "How's life fairing as Matt?" He blinked in shock at the one line. How did this person know? "As you can figure out, I did this to you two. You wished for it, after all, Jeff. Now you have to figure out how to change back. I'll give ya a tiny hint, though. You gotta learn something from it." The letter stopped there, nothing else was after it.  
  
Jeff sat back on the chair he was sitting in. Lesson? He suddenly was aware his brother was standing in back of him. He jumped though, he wasn't expecting to see him looming over him.  
  
"Matt, when did you get here?" he asked, surpised.  
  
"Long enough to see the letter. What are we gonna do?" he asked. Jeff shrugged.  
  
"Learn a lesson?" he suggested.  
  
"No shit." Matt groaned. "But what lessons?"  
  
"I have no clue..guess when we figure it out, we'll change bac--" he was stopped short when a message appeared on the screen.  
  
"I see both of you are home, good." the IM said. "Don't bother typing back anything, this is purely for me talking. Both brothers watched as another one appeared. "You will be in your rightful bodies when you figure out what's been bothering the both of you."  
  
"Huh?" Jeff inquired. "Who the hell is this person?"  
  
"It doesn't matter who I am Jeff." the IM silenced him. Were they being watched? "Remember you two, I wouldn't tell people about this, you'll just end up being looked at as mentally unstable. Goodbye..for now."   
  
The IM stopped there. Jeff watched the screen for a few minutes, not daring to speak. Someone did this to them. It was his fault. The person even said that. All because of a stupid jealous wish he was stuck in the totally wrong body.  
  
"I'm sorry." he finally said. He felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"It's not your fault." Matt knew instantly what he was talking about. "I think this was meant to happen.." He was trying to cheer his brother up, of course. "I bet we'll learn the lessons real fast and we'll be in the right bodies in no time."  
  
"I guess so. Well, I'm tired. Can you shut the laptop down for me?" Jeff asked. Matt nodded.  
  
"Sure thing. Get some sleep. You need it in a serious way." he pointed out as he shooed his brother to the bed. "We gotta go on a plane to Dallas tomorrow early because we have to go to that signing at 6, so get a good night's worth, huh?" He was already back into his older brother type of mode. "Don't worry about it." Jeff frowned but he laid down anyway, too tired to argue or care that he was still being bossed around. Almost instantly he fell asleep when his head hit the pillow.  
  
Matt watched his brother sleep for no more then a minute. That was obviously a trait of his brother's and not his..he could never fall asleep THAT fast. He paused then gentally bent over and kissed his cheek. Jeff mumbled something incoherent before falling silent again. He went to turn off the computer but looked at the IM once more.  
  
"Lesson, huh?" he mumbled to himself as he signed off and began to shut the laptop down. "This isn't gonna be easy." 


	4. Bad Dreams, Bad Cooking, And A Bad Fight...

Sleep was troubling. Jeff tossed and turned as he went through a dream he never had before. It was weird, he couldn't see but he felt--he heard his brother screaming for help but he couldn't see him. A rush of helplessness hit him as he tried to find his brother but couldn't manage too. He heard a screech of pain that threw him out of his dream world and into reality. He took a few deep breaths and he realized his brother--still in his body--was shaking him. He noted he was shaking anyway, even without his brother. Cold sweat glisened his body.  
  
"Jeff? You OK buddy?" he heard his own voice whisper and then he remembered it wasn't his voice any longer. He felt himself pull his brother into a hug, which kinda surpised Matt.  
  
"It was horrible.." he finally managed to whisper. Matt regarded him with worried eyes. "So black.." Matt sat next to him, now out of the hug.  
  
"Want to talk about it?" he asked. It had always been like this. He and his brother did this since forever. Whenever either of them had a nightmare, they'd be there for each other.  
  
"It was so dark..I heard you screaming but I couldn't find you.." he said softly.  
  
"Well, I'm right here and I'm fine, Jeff." He ruffled his hair affectionately like he always did. He realized then it's been a long time since his brother was so shaken up by a dream. "Trust me, those monsters still aren't here." Jeff cracked a grin at that.  
  
Jeff remembered that well. He and his brother, when he was 4 and Matt was 7, were suddenly aware that monsters could be looming anywhere and decided to go on a little hunt at 2 o clock in the morning. Two broken glass objects later, they soon found that no monster would dare live in a house with what his mom called them as "psychopath little rugrats". They were grounded for a little while..well, 2 weeks, which was pretty much hell to such young kids, and they learned an important lesson then. Never think that clear vase shaped objects were fish monsters.  
  
"I still think that one vase moved.." he chuckled.  
  
"Yeah, well, Mom didn't believe us." Matt fakely pouted. "Oh well, you OK now?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks Mattie." he smiled. "Guess you are worth something."  
  
"I'm hurt.." he said fakely. "Well, I'm glad you're OK, little bro."  
  
"Hey, I'm not the little bro anymore." he protested with a grin.  
  
"You still have the mind of a 22 year old." he pointed out. "Well, I'm going back to sleep. You sure you're OK?"  
  
"Yeah." he nodded. "You're not so bad Mattie." Jeff slugged his brother's shoulder playfully.  
  
"You're lucky it's late or you'd get an ass whoopin'." Matt smirked as he lumbered back to his bed.  
  
"G'night, Matt." Jeff mumbled as he got comfortable again.  
  
"Goodnight." Matt mumbled back.  
  
And the dream didn't return.  
  
***  
  
The morning sunlight that so helpfully beamed in Jeff's eyes awoken him. He didn't want to get up, but he remembered he was going to Dallas very soon. Matt was still fast asleep and Jeff didn't have the heart to wake the poor guy up. He instead got ready first and just for the added gesture of gratitude for putting up with him he attempted to make pancakes. This proved difficult and he ended up nearly getting splattered with one. He flipped one a bit too high and he found himself almost diving out of the way so it didn't splatter onto his head. It landed on the floor. He groaned and went to wipe it up..then he smelled something burning. The pancakes were burning.  
  
"Damnit!" he cried out before trying to put it out. He shut the burner off and slammed the stupid lid on it. He took it off and he didn't like what he found. The pancakes were sorta..black.  
  
"What in the hell..." the voice made him turn. Matt was standing there, looking at the mess in front of him.  
  
"Um..I hope you like your pancakes very well done.." Jeff said sheepishly.  
  
"What on earth possessed you to try to cook?" Matt asked, trying to hold back his laughter.  
  
"I dunno..thought you might like some breakfast..hey, I bet the soot flavor will be drowned out by a little syrup.." he offered. Matt couldn't hold back his laughter any longer and started cracking up.  
  
"I think I'll pass." he smiled. "Want me to take over before you burn the hotel down?"  
  
"I always liked eggs better anyway.." Jeff grumbled as he handed over the skillet and what he called a flipper. Matt took it over and no time made a perfect batch of pancakes.  
  
"Show off." Jeff grumbled as they sat down at the little table the hotel offered. He was stuffing his face, though, seconds later.  
  
"So, guess you'll never be a chef when you get out of wrestling.." Matt teased.  
  
"Hey, I think black pancakes will be a delicacy one day." Jeff replied with a grin.  
  
"Sure bro." he laughed. "Hey, thanks for um..trying though. But..warn me if you want to try that again. I'll be ready with the extinguisher."  
  
"Funny." Jeff grumbled.  
  
"I'm only kidding with ya. I'm sure you can cook. Just..not pancakes. That's OK." he smiled. "Well, we certainly have a day ahead of us."  
  
"Yep." Jeff nodded. He sat back then, his stomach digesting the..editable food. Maybe the day would get better..  
  
***  
  
"I got window seat!" Seconds later Jeff bolted past his brother and plopped down in the seat. Matt rolled his eyes and sat down next to his as usual hyper little brother.  
  
"Stupid, we're in a public plane..try to act a little more like me, huh?" he whispered. Jeff shrugged.  
  
"Sorry." he whispered back. He calmed down a little and sat back. At this point he noted two girls constantly looking at them and basically hyperventilating and if he was in the correct body he would of flirted like hell with them because that's how he is. They looked around his age too..  
  
Matt wouldn't be like that though, of course, thus the reason why he wouldn't do it. He got comfortable and sighed. Automatically he thought of Miriam. Would he ever see her again? Did it matter? Not really. Not until he was in the right body. She liked Jeff. He was Jeff on the inside, but Matt on the outside. A very scary thought came to his mind. What if she started hitting on Matt, thinking he was..him? Would Matt blow it and he'd loose his chance?  
  
"Something wrong?" Jeff jumped. He was in deeper thought then he thought he was. Matt was looking at him worriedly. It was weird though--his expression didn't match his face. It was a Matt look, not a Jeff one.  
  
"I was thinking.." he started. "Um..yesterday that girl that interviewed you..I mean me.."  
  
"Ya mean that girl that knew me?" he questioned.  
  
"Yeah, that one." he nodded. "Miriam. Well, I couldn't help but ask her if she liked me--I mean you--I mean--well you know what I mean.."  
  
"Why am I not surpised.." he smirked.  
  
"Yeah well, she admitted she had a crush on me..well, me in my own body.." he stumbled on.  
  
"I get it, keep going.." he groaned.  
  
"Well, if she comes on to you you're not gonna screw up my chance, right?" he asked.  
  
"So you like her?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah." he nodded.  
  
"Then of course I won't screw up your chances, bro." Matt smiled. "I'm sure by the time anything happens we'll be back to normal though."  
  
"I hope so." he sighed. The plane ride was almost over by the time the two stopped talking. Jeff kinda wished he was in the plane all the other wrestlers were taking later. They would of had to take a plane ride today anyway to the same destination later on in the day if it wasn't for the signing. Geez, what would he do if one of Matt's fans asked him something even he didn't know?  
  
They quickly unboarded and gathered their stuff only to be attacked by a few younger girls. They gave them their autographs, even took a few pictures, and before long they slipped away into the waiting limo. This was the fun part of being famous. The limos were always so comfortable. After 20 minutes in there, they saw their destination.  
  
Long line. Very long line. God, this was the bad part. His hand was gonna hurt like hell after this. The ones sponsering this wonderful little appearance quickly moved them to where they were to sit and the signing was on.  
  
It was OK the first hour. They asked all these easy questions Jeff knew off the top of his head. It was fun to see them basically fall over from shock. This is why he loved the fans. They were so happy to just get a handshake.   
  
The 2nd hour just got annoying. His hand hurt like hell by the end of it, but he was still in high spirits. He glanced over at Matt who was doing OK himself. Besides on tiny screw up where he almost wrote *his* name, he did OK. None of the fans seemed to notice that the handwriting was different. He looked up at one point and his eyes met..Miriam's. He nearly jumped up at the sight of her but he couldn't, being that Matt wasn't suppose to like her. He frowned and kept signing autographs, hoping that he wasn't blushing at all.  
  
Finally the line was done. By that time his hand was throbbing. He cracked his knuckles--a nasty habit he inquired long ago that Matt didn't do. Matt had left to get a drink for the both of them. He felt a hand on her shoulder and he looked behind him to see Miriam.  
  
"I knew it was you." she said simply. He cocked a confused brow. "Don't play stupid with me..Jeff." He almost fell off his chair at that.  
  
"Huh? Uh--uh--what are you talking about?" he tried to cover.  
  
"Jeff.." her voice was lower. "I know what happened."  
  
"Let's go get my brother." he finally said.  
  
They didn't have to move. Matt came back about 10 seconds later. He looked at Miriam and quickly tried to look like Jeff. He was surpised when Jeff took him by the arm and led him into a nearby closet along with Miriam.  
  
"What the..?" he questioned, surpised.  
  
"Matt, Miriam knows about our little um..problem." he explained quickly.  
  
"Why did you tell her?!" he demanded instantly. "I PROMISED you I wouldn't mess up--" He was cut short by Jeff who put his hand on his mouth. He was blushing profusely.  
  
"Shut up and calm down." he quickly said as Miriam watched the two brothers fight.  
  
"Why are we in this closet?" she sighed.  
  
"Because my brother has a big mouth." he sighed irritably.  
  
"Matt, I swear I didn't tell her." he frowned. "And I don't like how you treat me all the time. I'm sick of it."  
  
"I have a feeling I should leave.." Miriam said, making a beeline to the door.  
  
"Stay right where you are." Matt instructed. "Now, how did you find out, huh?"  
  
"I know who did this to you." she explained. "But I can't tell you who..but I know I'm suppose to help you. You guys gotta get along. When you learn a lesson that goes with the reason why you turned like this you'll change back instantly."  
  
"Is that all you can say?" Jeff asked.  
  
"Yeah, sorry guys." she frowned. "I have to go now. Good luck." She opened the door and shut it behind her.   
  
"This is going to take FOREVER." Matt groaned.  
  
"We'll think of something." Jeff said as he opened the door to get out of the closet.  
  
"I can't see how you can be positive right now Jeff." Matt said as he closed the door.  
  
"Easy. We can beat this..all we have to do is figure out what we have to figure out." he said, making it sound so simple.  
  
"We wouldn't have to even do anything if you didn't make that damn wish!" Matt accused. "Now we're going to be stuck in the wrong bodies forever!"  
  
Jeff stopped cold. His brother was right..this was all his fault. All his fault. He was a fuckin' screw up in his own eyes and his brother's too. He felt tears welling up but he wiped them away quickly.  
  
"Um..I'll meet you at the hotel, Matt.." he sniffed. Matt turned but Jeff was already gone. 


	5. The Ultimate Sacrifice, With A Lesson Le...

It didn't take much to find a cab. Jeff knew the location and all of the hotel. But problem was he only had a 20 dollar bill in his pocket and that probably wouldn't get him far at all. He didn't want to talk to his brother though..not at all. Not until he straightened things out with..himself. Yeah, he was basically beating himself up but it was bound to happen. He hailed a taxi which came quite quickly. When did taxis start driving around Dallas? He decided not to ask. He quickly got in.  
  
"Where too, mister?" the gruff man asked.  
  
"Um..toward the Holiday Inn on Roward Ave..go as far as 20 dollars could take me." he said uncomfortably.  
  
"Sure mister." the man replied before he drove off.  
  
He hoped the 20 dollars would get him far enough that he didn't have to walk more then 20 minutes. It was around 4 as Jeff noticed. He then wondered if leaving his brother like that was a good thing to do. His stomach growled loudly in agreement--he had no money to spend on something to eat now. Last thing he had was Matt's pancakes.  
  
The taxi stopped after 20 minutes.  
  
"This is as far as 20 bucks can get you, mister." he said in the now annoying gruff voice. "The walk is like, 10 minutes from here. Just keep following this sidewalk."  
  
"Thanks." he said as he paid up and left the taxi. It quickly left him in the dust. At that point he noticed wet drops falling onto his head and upon looking up he finally noticed the change in weather.  
  
"This is not my day at all." he mumbled softly. He didn't have a coat or anything. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he started walking the depressing walk home.  
  
Everything was quiet..a nervous quiet maybe. No one was out..but then again, who would they be out in the rain like he? He suddenly felt stupid--he shouldn't have had that tantrum. He was being selfish and for once he realized being it. This shit wasn't just happening to him, it was happening to his brother too.  
  
"Hey! Jackass!" a slurred voice called out. Jeff turned around to see a man with 2 other men behind him. "Yeah, you."  
  
"We're gonna getcha fer attack da dudley boys.." another man said before nearly tripping over his own two feet. Jeff backed away slowly...he couldn't take all three of them on, especially when they were burly kinda men.  
  
"That's just TV fellas." he explained slowly.  
  
"You're jest sayin' that loooseerr.." the third man said. Jeff looked to the right and left of him and saw an allyway. He knew it was stupid, but he quickly dashed to it. The men took off after him.  
  
If he ever wanted to know what fear was, he found out at that moment as he skidded to a halt. Dead end. He looked at his surroundings and found it pretty bleak--nothing to hide in or behind and no way to get over the fence. He saw the men easily walking to him. He saw it then..a gun. He remembered that Texas folks get guns easily. That wasn't good.  
  
"We're ganna make sure you never attack our heros again.." the man with the gun said.  
  
The first thing Jeff thought was what surpised him--he wondered what would become of his brother. Would he be stuck as 'Jeff' forever? Would he blame himself if he died from this? Would he care? Jeff heard the gun click and he tensed. Yes, he was going to die. He closed his eyes tightly, ready to be hit.  
  
"I don't think so, buddy!" a mysteriously familiar voice rang out and then 2 thumps were heard. Jeff opened his eyes to see Matt with a peice of wood from who knows where. He slammed it into the back of the man with the gun. He slumped down in pain.  
  
Matt quickly made his way to Jeff, who looked like he was about to be sick.  
  
"Are you OK, Jeff?" he asked. "I'm so sorry..you have no clue how worried I was about you. When you disappeared I thought you just ran away." Jeff helplessly looked down at the downed form with the gun. He couldn't talk..a lump in his throat from the fear was preventing him from doing so. Suddenly he noticed the man weakly raise the gun.  
  
"Watch out!!" he cried out. The bullet flew out of the gun and for the split second time froze. Matt jumped in front of Jeff. Basically milli-seconds later, Matt fell to the ground. The man with the gun was out of it.  
  
"Matt!" Jeff cried out. He kneeled down to the unmoving form in front of him. He turned him over to see he was still conscious, but barely. A reddish spot was growing on his shirt.  
  
"Jeff.." he said softly. Jeff basically had his brother in his lap. He didn't care if it was his body that was hurt, he cared that his brother was in it. "I'm sorry, Jeff..you don't deserved to be bossed around.." His body was racked in a coughing fit, a bit of blood running down his pale cheek. "Jeff..I love you..take care of my body for me, huh?" He let out a breath and closed his eyes, and then he was still.  
  
"Matt?! MATT!!" Jeff cried out in fear. "Don't die Matt..don't die.." Tears streamed down his face. "I need you!! You can't leave me now..we've been through everything together..don't leave me.."  
  
At that point Jeff suddenly felt warmer. The whole world was a whirl of colors and then it completely disappeared. They weren't in a town, a city..hell, they weren't even in their world. It was all white. Pure white. But it wasn't heaven..for some reason Jeff knew that.  
  
"You figured it out after all.." Jeff shaded his eyes and soon he saw Miriam standing there. She grinned.  
  
"Look at your brother, Jeff." he looked down, confused, and then he felt a sharp breath come out of his mouth. Matt was lying there..the REAL Matt in his rightful body. He had no wound. He was breathing. In other words, he was alive.  
  
"How..?" he questioned.  
  
"Duh, that didn't happen. None of this happened, Jeff." she smirked. "This is all in your mind."  
  
"What?!" he exclaimed.   
  
"I am what you can think of as your conscience. Do you understand now that even your brother has his problems and that he does everything because he loves you, Jeff?" she questioned.  
  
"Yeah..I really do..I never knew he loved me so much..he took that bullet for me.." he trailed off, for at that moment he saw his brother sit up.  
  
"Matt! You're OK!" Jeff said, completely forgetting about Miriam. He looked at him and his eyes widened.  
  
"I'm back in my body! Yes!" he said, getting up as quickly as Jeff had ever seen.  
  
"Now boys.." Miriam said, getting their attention. "I'm allowing you to go back to where you were before this happened. I don't want to see your sorry asses in this situation again, got it?" They both nodded.  
  
"Will I ever see you again?" Jeff questioned. Miriam smiled.  
  
"We'll see." she said softly. "Now, close your eyes..when you open them again, you'll be in the exact moment you changed. You'll remember it all, but I wouldn't suggest you tell anyone. Don't want to have people you've had one too many hits." Jeff and Matt did as they were told. The world became unbarably light, even with their eyes closed..  
  
***  
  
Jeff lazily opened his eyes to see the familiar wall he had seen before. He turned to his side and a smile appeared on his face. They were back where they started. He sat up and basically made a beeline to the bathroom. His rightful face stared back at him in the mirror. He held back a shriek of joy and he quickly ran to his brother's bed and proceded to dive into it and onto him.  
  
"AHH!!" Matt screamed as his brother jumped onto him. He sat up, stunned.  
  
"Matt we're BACK!! We're in our rightful bodies!! You're not dead!!" He cried out. Before Matt could react Jeff pulled him into a very big hug.  
  
"Ahh!! Jeff!! You're going to kill me!!" Matt gagged as his brother squeezed the air out of him. Jeff let him go and Matt rubbed his shoulder.  
  
"What was the lesson, anyway?" he asked.  
  
"Uhm..well, OK, you died and all..and I said how you couldn't leave 'coz I needed you, even though you're annoying at points." he grinned. Matt smiled slightly.  
  
"Well..I'm glad that's over.." he was sitting up, his feet dangling over the side of the bed he was sleeping in. Jeff was doing the same. "I'm sorry I always boss you around like that, Jeff. I have no right to do that at all."  
  
"Yes you do. You know more then me..you're looking out for me, you know?" he smiled slightly. "That's why you're my bro."  
  
"Hey Jeffy, you want something to eat? My treat." Matt suddenly said.  
  
"You don't have too.." Jeff slowly explained.  
  
"I want too. Pancakes?" he questioned.  
  
"Black colored?" he inquired.  
  
"Brown, I'm making it, remember?" he joked. Jeff smirked and pushed his brother lightly as he left.  
  
He decided right there that maybe the brother thing was OK after all. 


End file.
